US ambassador Kenneth Juster calls Bay area ‘Bangalore of California’

US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster juxtaposed the influence of technology companies and startups of the country’s tech hub Bengaluru, saying that he had worked in “the Bangalore of California” referring to technology industry in San Francisco Bay Area.The US Ambassador found connect with country’s tech hub Bengaluru.

“I enjoy meeting young technology entrepreneurs because I was once part of that (technology) world when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, the “Bangalore of California”, said Juster at an interactive meeting with startup entrepreneurs working in the sustainable design ecosystem in India.

Before being appointed as the US Ambassador to India, Juster was a partner with private equity firm Warburg Pincus and worked previously as a senior executive at software firm Salesforce. Juster served as a senior commerce department official in the George Bush administration and also served as the US chair of the US-India High Technology Cooperation Group.

“One of the important aspects of the US political process is that members of the private sector can serve in senior government positions, so we have people making policy who understand the business implications of what they are doing. I hope I am in that group,” said the US Ambassador.

“Given his background in the entrepreneurial world, the PE world, and having worked with the business world in India, it is quite heartening to see a leader with his expertise playing the lead for US engagement in India,” said Dr Tej Pochiraju, director, Jaaga Startup, who hosted the discussion. “There is a recognition at a pretty high level that entrepreneurial efforts in this (sustainable design) domain is critical. There is a role for startups,” he said.